Discover our squad for Saturday's @Il_Lombardia - the final Monument of the season: soudal-quickstepteam.com/en/news/6759/s… Photo: @GettySport
Remco Evenepoel confirmed for Lombardia battle against Pogacar - "We aren’t starting as the main favourites"
CyclingWednesday, 09 October 2024 at 13:20
Remco Evenepoel is returning to Il Lombardia. In 2020 he crashed into a ravine and suffered career-threatening injuries, and in 2021 he was only 19th. Three years later he returns to be a headliner in the battle against Tadej Pogacar, and will end his season in the Italian monument.
Although it must be said that expectations aren't the highest. Although at the World Championships he showed strong form on both events, since making the trip to Italy he has struggled. He abandoned the Giro dell'Emilia with an eye problem but at the Coppa Bernocchi he lacked the legs to make the difference. Like Primoz Roglic, it seems like both have severely struggled with the wet and cold conditions - whilst Pogacar thrives in them. The World Champion's armour looks impenetrable into Saturday but Evenepoel is one of the few who can also hope for victory.
“It goes without saying that on Saturday we’ll take on one of the toughest races of the season. The eight climbs on the course will gradually whittle down the peloton, and the presence of Sormano – the longest ascent of the day – inside the last 60 kilometers is sure to light up the race," team DS Davide Bramati anticipated. "We aren’t starting as the main favourites, but we are determined to do a good race, show the Wolfpack spirit and score a solid result as we bring down the curtain over our European season”.
Quick-Step is having a strong lineup however including Mattia Cattaneo who has been on a tremendous run of form, William Lecerf Junior who won the under-23 race last year, Ilan van Wilder who was Tre Valli Varesine's winner last year, Mauri Vansevenant who recently won at the Tour de Luxemoburg and local rider Fausto Masnada who was second to Pogacar in 2021. Pieter Serry concludes the lineup.
Soudal - Quick-Step for Il Lombardia:
Remco Evenepoel
Mattia Cattaneo
William Junior Lecerf
Fausto Masnada
Pieter Serry
Ilan Van Wilder
Mauri Vansevenant
Remco Evenepoel
Mattia Cattaneo
William Junior Lecerf
Fausto Masnada
Pieter Serry
Ilan Van Wilder
Mauri Vansevenant
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- First of all, I hope now all is ok with your baby!. Yeah, about to not accept foreign phone number is a big problem also for me. I have economic interests in 2 countries, I think that all can be ok with my Italian number... but NO! The world is globalized but not for bureaucracies.
maria2024202424-11-2024 - First of all, calm, this is a site to share point of views, doubts, intuitions about cycling. Let's think about it: if someone tells you that he is very tired but is going to run unimportant races immediately, ignoring a world championship much further away in time that would give him the opportunity to rest, there is something very contradictory. Maybe it is fair, but as a simple spectator I (and many others) do not understand it, it does not make sense.maria2024202424-11-2024
- I think the other side has said plenty, given comments about her reputation like what Renz said above. Perhaps this is her chance to speak up against that reputation? I have no idea but her comments seem pretty human, even if each person has their own version of the story.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Give her a team built around her with no competing leaders, like Pogacar has at UAE or Vingegaard has at Visma (seeing how Roglic left), and I wonder how Vollering would do. She’s already so good, and a team dedicated to her could make her even better.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Those injuries, an ability to manage pain and push himself, probably a load of TUEs to help him get back from an awful moment, and competing that hard without the long exercise base that was the norm - no wonder he was exhausted. We’ve now had two consecutive seasons of the second place rider having an injury that interrupts training, and it shows to what level their bodies are tuned for the insane task of winning the Tour. I certainly hope both (and their teams!) are healthy next year. It would be a first, after 4 years.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Winners seem to be like this. Win or lose, it is always on to the next thing. They don’t celebrate the big win, they don’t worry about the painful loss. They move on. It’s an amazing skill. But to be able to ride (and win) while not being able to walk? That’s a level of pain management that boggles my mind. Of course they have it, given what they put their bodies through, but it’s just crazy.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Poor Demi. But she behaves the same way when riding for the national team. Bring me my tiny violin.Renz24-11-2024
- good pointsmij24-11-2024
- Yes, please tell us based on your superior expertise about why JVs training and race schedule is wrong 🧐Crashjames24-11-2024
- I'd like to hear what the other side has to say.mij24-11-2024